Photo Update for Beach-Ready-Body Progress

Here are the photos I promised the other day - and some up-to-the-minute "stats": 1 - as of this morning my body-fat% is now hovering around 10% 2 - my body-weight has dipped below 130-lbs a few times here and there 3 - my energy levels are sky-high and pretty even-keeled 4 - with the increase in water lost through sweat, I'm adding a little more pink sea-salt to my meals for the natural, full-spectrum electrolytes (this is very HELPFUL). 5 - In these photos, I'm modeling yet another pair of my "old-school, $5, cut-off sweats". ...Amazing thing is, this particular pair dates back to my college days... Made to last!! lol... [caption id="attachment_963" align="alignnone" width="377" caption="Mid-April Beach-Ready-Body Update: front"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_964" align="alignnone" width="346" caption="Mid-April Beach-Ready-Body Update: back"][/caption] NOTES: 1 - I'm really not planning on changing anything, or "trying" to get leaner, etc... All this has been happening with the change in climate - and my daily preferences for activity - and food(s). 2 - Any changes that happen from here forward will be natural effects of climate and lifestyle during this time of year in North Florida. 3 - I'll carry on the same fitness routine when me and the kids head up to New York, to visit family and friends, at the end of the Summer. Even though we won't have the same beach-time activities - we will surely get more trail-hikes and nature-walks in. 4 - A reminder: My overall aim is to maintain an "athletic" look. A healthy and functional appearance. One that is not easy to see when fully clothed - but when the shirt comes off - it is clearly evident I'm "on a program". You can think of it as a "stealth" physique. Ok - as always, thanks for reading - and if you have any thoughts, comments or questions, please post them below - I'd love to hear from you... Your trainer for life, - Joey Atlas

Beach-Ready-Body Tune-Up Update #3

ok - a quick update for you - with my personal tips and tweaks as well... After you read today’s update - you can check out where this all started a few months ago with: (If you look over to the right - you'll see them under "LATEST HOT POSTS") For now - let’s get into the latest-latest info... Here’s my current status: 1 - My weight has dropped a touch more, and I’m hovering at around 130-lbs 2 - Body-fat% is down to about 11% 3 - When I post the latest photos in a few days you’ll see a sure difference from the last set of photos, which I took about 3 weeks ago. 4 - Hearing more cat-calls from ladies of all ages during beach visits. While most of these are executed in tasteful and classy fashion - I’d still prefer a face-to-face “hello” and a gentle handshake. 5 - Noticing more double and triple-takes from both male and females out and about, usually during beach activities. Ok - so , here are my tips and tweaks for the last few weeks: A - I’ve gone down to one piece of all-natural/organic bread for my “late-morning”, Perfect breakfast sandwich. Going from 2 to 1 pieces hasn’t left me hungry at all. I do take smaller bites and enjoy every chew of this smaller, beach-ready-body breakfast. B - There were several mornings/mid-days where I was on the go, running errands of all sorts and I basically stopped in for a double-skinny-mocha at my favorite coffee shops (Whole Foods has an awesome coffee-bar here in Jacksonville) to hold me over until I could get back to home-base for some food. When I do this it thoroughly satisfies me for several hours - Awesome. C - I’ve added a few new recipes to my personal Spring/Summer menu. I’m usually just cooking for one - but I always make several days worth so I have meals for 2-4 more days - or I freeze some for future eating. Here are 2 of them: Each of these is a short pdf - you can click and print - then MAKE & EAT :-) They are both from the 500 Fat-Burning Recipes CookBook ( *created by Chad and the Team at Fit-Era* ) 1 - Fat-Burning Healthy Cookie Recipe [caption id="attachment_938" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fat-Burning Healthy Cookies"][/caption] 2 - Fruity Flaxseed Protein Muffins [caption id="attachment_948" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fruity Faxseed Protein muffins"][/caption] I also have one for Fit-Body Buffalo Wings which I'll be sharing in the next day or two - so stay tuned for that... In the meantime - if you have any questions, comments of thoughts - just post them below :-) Your trainer for life, - Joey Atlas

My Wild Before & After Experiment with Vulnerable Photos

One of the biggest challenges of living an effective fitness lifestyle is making it work in modern day life. Over the years, I’ve discovered some subtle but powerful keys to make this work. One of these keys is the ability to ‘fluctuate’ throughout the year - in a healthy and balanced way. See, this allows us to stay in a ‘fit range’ - instead of one absolute state of physical fitness. For example - in the high Summer, I usually weigh in at 129 Lbs - and maybe 9% body-fat. Keep in mind, I’m 5’2”, when you’re thinking about that 129 Lbs (far from “too skinny”)... And in the middle of Winter - which is what it is right now - (yes it gets a bit “cold” in North Florida) - I usually go “up” in weight - to about 134 Lbs - and maybe around 13.5% body-fat... I took the 2 BEFORE photos below, AND measurements, just a few hours ago. (Please take notice of the "old-school $5 sweats" which I am working hard at bringing back into style). [caption id="attachment_863" align="alignnone" width="838" caption="March 2013 - at 43yo some of those awesome white hairs come out at mid-chest"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_864" align="alignnone" width="775" caption="March 2013 - look at that crazy hair swirl in the middle!"][/caption] Now that 5 Lbs might not seem like a lot - BUT, when you see the difference (in about 6 weeks) it may look dramatic. I’m doing this NOW, because it looks like this will be the last, or one of the last, “cold” weekends here in North Florida... And once it starts to warm up and daylight time gets longer each day - I tend to be outdoors and more active - more often - especially on the weekends when the kids want to be on the beach... What naturally happens is what creates the change you’re going to see when I post the “after” photos in April or May... You’ll benefit from this in several ways - some of which won’t be evident until I post the ‘after’ photos. Here comes part of my point: Without my light Summer tan - and with all my Italian body hair grown in to keep me warm during the Winter - my physique looks VERY different. Different people will use different words to describe this difference - Feel free to post your comments, thoughts or questions in the box below this post. Over the next few weeks and months - I’m going to share the things I do as Spring/Summer gets closer - and I make slight adjustments to drop the Winter body-fat - and also “lose” the layer of upper-body hair that can feel like a sweater if left unshaven in the warmer seasons. NOTE - if you have any personal experience or insights on the subject of laser hair removal, PLEASE share below as it is something I am considering for my upper body. (I did try waxing about 20 years ago - and IT WAS FREAKING TORTURE.. enough said there :-) One thing I’ll be doing is trying at least 9 of the recipes from the Unleash Your Thin recipe books that I bought a few days ago - I just got the whole package today. Here’s a photo I took today right before I took the shirtless photos above. I got the U.Y.T. whole package - digital version and the 3 books and CD’s. For the average person this is GOLD material. For me - the recipe book alone is priceless because it give me more variations of what I already do - but it saves me lots of time, energy and guesswork - and the kids LOVE these types of recipes too... Life get’s easier :-) Post your comments below - and STAY TUNED for my detailed “transformation” updates and photos over the next few weeks and months... My "after" photos are going to be pretty cool... And, there will be priceless lessons, tactics and strategies for you to pull from the events that are going to be unfolding from now - until it's time to post the afters... On paper, the changes won't be drastic - but to the eye - they will be quite dramatic. The same can be true for you too. Your trainer for life, - Joey Atlas

Chocolate Spelt Cake: A Perfect Fitness Recipe

In celebration of the Holiday Season - here is another awesome and healthy recipe you can make for you and your friends - that tastes incredible and is packed with body-boosting nutrients - so you can feel good about eating it - and feel good after eating it... We used mostly organic ingredients when we made this last weekend - but you can go with either 'regular' or organic.. Your choice.

Organic Chocolate Spelt Cake

INGREDIENTS: 2 1/2 cups of spelt flour 3/4 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 cup of organic brown sugar or 1 teaspoon of stevia with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice 1/2 cup of coconut oil 1/2 cup of agave 4 egg whites 3 egg yolks 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1/2 cup of almond or coconut milk 200 grams 70% chocolate DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 180C or 350F. 2. Rub a 9 inch tin with a little coconut oil and line with baking paper. 3. Melt the chocolate and coconut oil and let cool a little. 4. Mix dry ingredients together well. 5. Beat eggs whites with sugar (or stevia and lemon juice) until stiff. 6. Gently mix the egg yolks and essence into the egg whites. 7. Add in 1/3 of the flour and mix gently. 8. Add in the melted chocolate and coconut oil and blend. 9. Add in 1/3 of the flour and mix gently. 10. Add in the almond or coconut milk and blend. 11. Add in the last of the flour and mix until smooth. Pour into tin and bake for 35-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Remove and eat while warm with fresh strawberries. Refrigerate the leftover cake and remove 30 mins before serving.

We got a bunch of emails yesterday asking about the rest of the recipe in the Sinfully Healthy Recipe Collection at http://www.MostSinfullyHealthyFoods.com - So, here they are:

Sinfully Healthy Gourmet Cookbook Recipes Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Soup Butterflied Turkey with Cranberry & Apple Glaze Baked Stuffed Onions Cornbread with Semi Dried Tomatoes & Herbs Pumpkin Pie with Roasted Pecan Topping Grilled Mushrooms with Tomatoes Butternut Pumpkin, Leek and Apple Soup Traditional Roast Turkey (Brined) Marinated Turkey Breast Roasted Vegetables Sweet Potato Casserole Pumpkin Custard Pecan and Cranberry Flan Superb Cranberry Sauce Sweet Chestnut Stuffing Wild Rice with Cranberry Dressing Cranberry and Pear Relish Pumpkin, Almond & Raisin Muffins Christmas Asian Spiced Crab Cakes Apple and Ginger Pork Roast Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes Baby Carrots with Ginger & Orange Mixed Berry Fruit Salad Spiced Almond Honey Biscotti Ingredients Check & Shopping List Breakfast Berry Parfait Apricot and Almond Granola Healthy & Delicious Christmas Morning Pancakes Prawn and Mango Salad Grilled Prawns with Spiced Yogurt Grilled Chicken with Pomegranate & Glaze Apple Glazed Grilled Turkey Breast Roasted Potato and Butternut Pumpkin Ginger Sweet Potatoes Baked Apples with Raisins, Almonds and Orange Pear, Apple and Cranberry Bake Apricot, Hazelnut and Wild Rice Stuffing Roasted Red Pepper, Leek and Wild Rice Stuffing Gingerbread (Ginger Cake) Spiced Macaroons New Years Eve Thai Coconut Ginger Shrimp (Prawns) Oven Roasted Fish Pan Seared Shrimp, Scallop and Mango Skewers Grilled Skewers of Mushroom & Broccoli Grilled Shrimp (Prawns) with Orange & Grapefruit Shrimp with Asian Peanut Sauce Sesame and Sun Dried Tomato Tofu Dip Cucumber with Hummus & Sesame Chicken, Cranberry & Feta Rolls Crab and Avocado Salad Almond and Coconut Meringue Cookies Dried Fruit with Green Tea & Yogurt Zucchini & Cheese Frittata Baked Pear, Apple & Berries Entertaining Yogurt & Pine Nut Dip Mushroom and Asparagus Salad with Pecans Chicken Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls Salmon Kebabs with Wild Rice and Grapefruit Fresh Berry & Lime Sorbet Baked Egg Plant Dip Spiced Avocado Dip Roasted Eggplant Hummus Spinach, Orange and Almond Salad Chickpea and Tomato Salad Tomato & Avocado Salad with Cumin Dressing Garlic Prawns Chicken and Bell Pepper Skewers Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Herbed Goats Cheese Baked Artichoke & Parsley Cheese Squares Sweet Potato Salad Spicy Peppered Crab Legs Chicken Breast with Peach Lime glaze Lamb Burgers with Coriander, Tomato and Yoghurt Red Cabbage Coleslaw with Caraway Mango and Strawberry Crush Coconut, Mango & Strawberry Tapioca Low Fat Cream with Fresh Seasonal Fruit Cranberry and Strawberry Summer Jelly Berry Frozen Yogurt Pineapple and Avocado Salsa Birthdays & Baking Special Carrot Cake Birthday Banana, Chocolate and Pecan Cake Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake Cinnamon and Almond Meringues Lime Meringue Squares Spiced Coconut Macaroons Easter Slow Cooked Moroccan Lamb Couscous with Herbs Poached Pears in Honey, Ginger and Cinnamon Crab Cakes with Avocado Spring Vegetable Frittata Baked Fish Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Herbs and Honey Stuffed Bell Peppers Roasted Asparagus with Sun-Dried Tomatoes Baked Spinach Baked Zucchini Almond, Apple and Raisin Loaf Almond Torte with Berry Sauce Apple, Fig & Almond Muffins Sinfully Healthy Cupcake Cookbook Metabolism-Boosting Cup Cakes Fresh Lemon-Vanilla with Lemon Curd Filling and Pure Meringue Topping Japanese Green Tea & Pear with Special Ginger Frosting Spiced Dark Chocolate with Cinnamon-Cayenne and Creamy Cinnamon Frosting Pure Rosewater & Roasted Pistachio with Turmeric Frosting Pure-Cleansing Cup Cakes Spiced Carrot-Cardamom with Brown Rice Flour and Fresh Lemon Frosting Matcha Green Tea with Adzuki Bean Filling and Dark Chocolate Glaze Avocado, Flax Seed and Spice with Sweet Honey Frosting Zucchini, Bell Pepper and Chickpea with Savoury Cream Frosting Energy-Boosting Cup Cakes Cappuccino, Fig and Quinoa with Roasted Coffee Frosting Goji Berry, Banana & Sunflower Seed with Fresh Berry Frosting Dark Chocolate and Sweet Beetroot with Orange Blossom Frosting Fresh Raspberry and Roasted Almond with Almond Cream Topping Gourmet-Indulgence Cup Cakes Roasted Hazelnut with a Chocolate Mousse Centre and Hazelnut Cream Frosting Fresh Lavender and Roasted Almond with Light Honey Frosting Intense Strawberry-Kiwi with Coconut Flour and Mango Frosting Exotic Papaya & Coconut with Ginger-Lime Frosting Protein-Power Cup Cakes Pure Vanilla with Sweet Vanilla Frosting Sweet Potato, Cashew and Quinoa with Spiced Cinnamon Frosting Cinnamon Spiced Apple and Almonds with Custard-Cream Frosting Dark Chocolate Cherry with Coconut-Choc Frosting Libido-Enhancing Cup Cakes Potent Maca Powder and Dark Chocolate with Fresh Raspberry Frosting Pomegranate, Lime and Chocolate with Tofu Chocolate Mousse Frosting Fresh Ginger, Nutmeg and Clove with Pumpkin and Cinnamon Topping Pure Ginger with Rich Coconut Cream Frosting CREDIT NOTE: All the recipes in the list above are part of the Sinfully Healthy Fitness Recipe Collection at http://www.MostSinfullyHealthyFoods.com BONUS NOTE: The Holiday Season bonus offer ends very soon - so go take a look... This is surely something any fitness minded person can put to use asap - and of course once the "New Year" arrives :-) Feel free to share this post with your friends, family and co-workers... You know they'll appreciate it - especially as the New Year gets closer and closer... Your Trainer for Life, - Joey Atlas

3 Red Recipes, 3 Good Photos and My 21-Item List

Cooking quick and easy meals for the fitness lifestyle gets easier and easier the more you do it... Here's yet another recent dinner I whipped up in under 37 minutes, end-to-end: 1 - Tangy Tomato Toss 2 - Razzle-Dazzle Wrap 3 - Sweet-Tooth Beet-Root

Here are the quick, easy and awesome-tasting recipes:

1 - Tangy Tomato Toss

- chop a large tomato - drizzle with balsamic vinegar - sea salt and black pepper - sprinkle with a table-spoon of grated parmesan cheese - serves 2-3... maybe 4

2 - Razzle-Dazzle Wrap

- heat med/large pan on medium flame (add tablespoon on coconut or extra virgin olive oil) - on a flat plate; place 1/2 ounce of cheddar cheese on half the wrap (leave other half vacant so you can fold it) - place scrambled egg on top of cheese, then add to pan - sprinkle with: paprika, black pepper, curry powder and sea salt (and crushed red pepper is optional) - fold foodless side over to cover the egg/cheese side - when bottom starts to brown and cheese melts, flip over with spatula - brown bottom side to your liking then remove and let cool a little before eating - serves 2

3 - Sweet-Tooth Beet-Root

- pre-heat oven to 375 degrees - cut 3 or 4 medium/large beetroots into 1/4-inch thick pieces - cover large baking pan with e.v. olive oil or coconut oil and lay beetroot pieces flat in pan, then flip them over so they have oil on both sides - place in middle rack for 10 mins - take out and sprinkle with black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, anise seeds (these are AWESOME) - cook for another 10-15 minutes; but check them along the way with a fork - if it goes through easily then they are DONE - remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt if you desire - serves 6-10 depending on size of beetroots, and how many My Fitness Food Shopping List During a few of my recent food shops, I realized how simple it would be for me to share what I buy, and show you too... This photo is half my groceries on the checkout counter - as the other half was already being bagged... Below this photo is a list of what I bought that day

Healthy Grocery List - Foods and Ingredients

Most of these items are organic... 1: Almond Milk 2: Mixed Baby-Green Lettuce 3: Ciabatta 4: Whole Spelt Wraps 5: Apricot Apple-Sauce 6: Brown Rice-Cakes 7: Cheddar Cheese Blocks 8: Eight Chocolate Bars (mostly dark) :-) 9: Almond Extract 10: Garlic Powder 11: Curry Powder 12: Tomatoes 13: Carrots 14: Celery 15: Beetroots 16: Red Delicious Apples 17: Cane Sugar 18: Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas 19: Eggs 20: Mixed Nuts 21: Balsamic Vinegar Any questions, thoughts or comments about the above info? Post in the box below... Want to share your food shopping list? You can do that in the box below as well :-) Your trainer for life, - Joey Atlas ps: the team at prograde has re-posted 2 Free Reports to help you gear up on proper info as the new year gets closer and closer: A: The Diet Pill Report B: What Your Doctor Never Told You About Fish Oil and Omega-3's

Feel free to share today's post with anyone you know who can benefit from the info... They'll appreciate you for it...